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Maurice Bavaud (January 15, 1916 in Neuchâtel – May 14, 1941 in Berlin-Plötzensee) was a Swiss theology student who in 1938 attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Unfortunately, his assassination attempt on Hitler failed, and he was executed by Guillotine for his crime. His life and effort was honored at last in 2008 by the Swiss government, and in 2011, a small memorial in honor of Maurice was erected in Hauterive, near Neuchâtel..

Background[]

Bavaud was a Catholic theology student, attending the Saint Ilan Seminary, Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, and a member of an anti-communist student group in France called Compagnie du Mystère. The group's leader, Marcel Gerbohay, had great influence over Bavaud. Gerbohay claimed that he was a member of the Romanov Dynasty, and convinced Bavaud that when communism was destroyed, the Romanovs would once again rule Russia, in the person of Gerbohay. Bavaud believed what Gerbohay had told him, became obsessed with the idea that killing Hitler would help the plans to materialize, and finally decided to carry out the assassination himself.

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